Chicago Radio: Sirott And Murciano Leaving WGN

Sirott and Murciano

Bob Sirott and Marianne Murciano are ending their two-year run as midday hosts on WGN 720 AM, station executives said Wednesday.

The Chicago Tribune reports the husband-and-wife team's last broadcast on the station will be Friday. Their noon-3 p.m. slot will be filled by expanding existing airshifts, notably extending the Bill Leff and Wendy Snyder late-morning show into afternoon.

"Right now we need to invest in one less show," said Todd Manley, vice president of content and programming at Tribune Media's WGN Radio. "It's just a matter of resources."

A longtime radio and TV veteran, Sirott left WFLD-Ch. 32 to host the WGN radio show with Murciano in September 2013. Their show has lagged other dayparts in the ratings, ranking 15th in Chicago with a 2.9 share among listeners 6+ in August, according to Nielsen.

Morning host Steve Cochran, whose show will expand to 10 a.m. with the change, was ranked No. 1 in August with an 8.2 share. Leff and Snyder are ranked fourth from 9 a.m. to noon with a 4.0 share. Overall, WGN has a 3.7 share, tied for fifth with iHeartMedia urban station WGCI-FM 107.5, according to Nielsen.

A Chicago native, Sirott hosted "The Noon Show" on WGN Radio from 2007 to 2010 while co-anchoring the WFLD-Ch. 32 news at nine. He launched his media career as a Chicago radio personality in the 1970s with shows at WBBM-FM 96.3 and WLS-AM 890. Sirott shifted to television in 1980 at WBBM-Ch. 2, and later became a correspondent on CBS News' "West 57th" newsmagazine. In 1989 he returned to Chicago television, with stints at WMAQ-Ch. 5 , WFLD-Ch. 32 and WTTW-Ch. 11, where he hosted "Chicago Tonight" for three years.

The pair talked about their imminent departure from WGN on air during their show Wednesday, fielding listener comments and expressing gratitude for the opportunity.